Ponting out, rest required

A TIGHT hamstring is never a good omen for an ageing champion leading into a showdown for the No. 1 Test ranking, but Australia is confident Ricky Ponting will be fit to face South Africa in the first Test at the Gabba from Friday.

Cricket Australia said it was being ultra-cautious in pulling the 37-year-old Ponting out of Tasmania's Sheffield Shield game in Hobart, but the injury scare delivered a sharp reminder of the team's reliance on Ponting, and the lack of batsmen lining up to replace him.

News of Ponting's sore thigh emerged on a dreadful day for Australian cricket, when exciting pace star Pat Cummins succumbed to a season-ending injury and the Test batsmen flopped in domestic games.

Team performance manager Pat Howard said Ponting would have played on for the Tigers had there not been a Test to prepare for.

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''This is a precautionary move to ensure Ricky has the best possible preparation for the first Test against South Africa in Brisbane next week,'' Howard said. ''We've opted to withdraw Ricky from the game. If this wasn't a week out from the first Test then Ricky would continue with the match, but we don't want to take that risk.

''We expect Ricky to be fit for the first Test against South Africa.''

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In a sign of the confidence in Ponting's powers of recovery, no batsman has been placed on standby.

Nor, worryingly, is there a clear replacement if the Tasmanian is unable to face Dale Steyn and company. George Bailey is regarded highly, Phillip Hughes has been in form for South Australia and Rob Quiney excelled against the Proteas for Australia A on Friday.

Ponting's early-season form suggests he is as motivated as ever and his reputation as one of the team's most diligent trainers indicates he will do everything possible to be ready.

Although the former captain was out for five in the first innings against the Redbacks, he is coming off unbeaten scores of 162 and 60 against a Victorian attack featuring Test pacemen Peter Siddle and James Pattinson.

The South Africa series looms as the crucial battle if Ponting is to fulfil his ambition to play through back-to-back Ashes contests next year.